SANTA CLARA, Calif. – As it turns out, the San Francisco 49ers will have some movement, including a key role in their staff and in the NFL broadcast booth after all.
After general manager John Lynch admitted earlier this week that he had turned down a lucrative opportunity to return to the broadcast, the Niners decided to hire Brian Grease as the next quarterback coach, ESPN sources told Seth Wickersham and Adam Shefter on Friday. Griese was one of the color analysts at ESPN’s 2020 Night Night Football.
Grise replaces Rich Scangarello, who left the team to become offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky last month, a move that came as little surprise to the Niners.
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Griese will be coaching for the first time. He retired from the NFL in 2008.
However, Griese has some knowledge of Niners coach Kyle Shanahan. He played quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, when Shanahan was the team’s quality control coach on the team’s offensive. After leading Michigan to the 1997 state championship, Grise played 10 seasons in the NFL with stops in Denver, Miami, Tampa Bay, Chicago and again with Tampa Bay before retiring.
Griese’s arrival comes at a critical time for the 49ers when it comes to quarterbacks. This off-season, San Francisco is expected to move from starter Jimmy Garopolo and transfer the reins to Trey Lance, who was selected as No. 3 overall pick in the NFL 2021 draft.
At the NFL scout factory in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Lynch admitted that Garopolo, who will soon have surgery on his right shoulder, is part of trade talks.
“A lot of people need or want quarterbacks right now, and he’s obviously someone to look at,” Lynch said. “So, yes, we listened, but he is part of us and will work hard to get back from this operation.”
Griese is just one of what is expected to have many new additions amid significant changes in Shanahan’s coaching staff. Eight Niners coaches, including Offensive Coordinator Mike McDaniel, now the Dolphins’ head coach, have left for other opportunities this offseason.
Anthony Lynn, the former Chargers head coach, was hired as the team’s assistant head coach in February and is also expected to train running defenders as longtime assistant Bobby Turner takes a break to deal with some health issues.
Lynch said Wednesday that the Niners are close to filling all their coaching positions with an announcement coming next week.